Details have been sent via email to our Google Group members for our first event of 2022. If you are not in the Group, or want to confirm that you are, go to our website, www.centraliowaminiclub.org. Click on the Join tab, complete and submit. You will be sent an invitation to join….please accept. It’s that simple. Emails sent to the Group can be responded to….there is a human at the other end.
Jolly Holiday Lights 2021!!
It’s the time of year to enjoy Jolly Holiday Lights with our MINI’s!!
The plan: Sunday, December 19th, 2021 at 5:15pm….
We will meet in the parking lot of the Altoona Cinemark Theater (2227 Adventureland Dr NW, Altoona). Jolly Holiday Lights starts at 5:30 so we can roll from the parking lot right over to the entrance and once there, we can line up and enter as a group. There’s plenty of space for us, in case we get split-up on the drive over. If you want to purchase tickets ahead of time, it’s a little less money, but the proceeds go to a good cause either way. If anyone wants to get a bite to eat beforehand, Culver’s is in the lot right next to the theater. We could stop in around 4:30 for an early supper. Nothing official, but it’s an option that’s really, REALLY close.
Hope to see many of your smiling faces there.
Fall Colors Drive – 2021
Mark your calendars for the Fall Colors Drive on Sunday, September 19th, hosted by Brad Bristow. We’ll meet at MINI of Des Moines for the drivers meeting at 12:45 PM. Departing at 1 PM to head south to Madison County. We’ll make a stop in the countryside and check out the Winterset Cidery at the end of the drive. Sounds interesting. Please RSVP on the Facebook event or emailing Laura or Brad by midnight on Tuesday, September 14. Let’s hope this year brings lots of color and if not, it’ll be just another great day spent with fellow MINIacs.
Motor to the Ox Yoke Inn for Frűhstűck (Breakfast)
Reply
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2021 AT 8 AM CDT
How about motoring to the Ox Yoke Inn in the Amanas for breakfast and an on-your-own day checking out the town and maybe do a little shopping? Question is will Bill & Carey get another award?? We’ll meet at the HyVee in Altoona and head out at 8 AM SHARP!! Make sure to have MINI’s belly full of petrol, don your shirt, name badge and charge the walkies!! Hummm, wonder if this will become another of our annual events. Who doesn’t like breakfast? RSVP’s for the number in your party are needed no later than Monday, September 27, so we can alert the establishment.
MINIs to Macon, Missouri Coopers to the Country Rally
Saturday August 21, 2021
The Round House – Building D
1402 South Missouri Street
Macon, Missouri
10:00 AM – MINI Cooper Arrival/Socialize
11:00 AM – Official Welcome
12:00 PM – Complimentary Lunch
1:30 PM – Group Pictures
2:00 PM – Farewell
*Optional- The Fork & Cork Artisan Festival located Downtown Macon at Vine & Rollins Street is happening the same day as our rally. If you want to check out the information for the festival
Here is the website: https://maconforkandcork.squarespace.com/
WHY: What a year! Is everyone ready to breakout and have some fun? Let’s put 2020 behind us and get out, have some fun and return to our regular lives. That means shine up the MINI and let’s hit the road! I want to invite everyone to Macon, Missouri for a special MINI Rally.
I realize that putting on a Mini Cooper Rally in Macon, Missouri presents some travel logistics for everyone, however it may well be an adventure worth taking to come to the country. I hope to see you!
MINI PASSION: Hilary Morrissey is a passionate MINI owner of 11 years. She has attended MINI Cooper shows and events throughout the state as well as hosting the MINI’s to Macon show in October 2011 & 2013, the MINI’s to Richmond show for 7 years plus the MINI’s to the Springs Rally in Excelsior Springs, MO in 2016. The opportunity to get a group of MINIs together for a fun event seems very appealing, so here we go! Mark Saturday, August 21st, 2021 on your calendar and make the trip to Macon, Missouri! ADVENTURE AWAITS! 
TO MAKE RESERVATIONS TO ATTEND: Please e-mail Hilary Morrissey at ministomacon@gmail.com with your first and last name, the year, model, color of your MINI and how many people are attending.
Got Questions/Comments? Contact Hilary Morrissey at ministomacon@gmail.com or visit the website for more information www.ministomacon2021.moonfruit.com
Mini of the Month Calendar
Every year since 2006 owners have submitted photos for inclusion in an annual Mini of the Month calendar. If you would like to submit a photo for 2021, or just want to buy the finished calendar, here is the latest information from John and the folks who take care of this project.
Well, it’s September and time is running short to submit your MINI or Classic Mini photo entries to be included in the voting to select the photos for the 2021 Mini of the Month calendar. For those of you who have already submitted photos, thank you. For everyone else, I look forward to seeing all your MINI and Classic Mini photos soon. Voting to select the photos to be published in the 2021 MINI of the Month Calendar(s) will occur in late September/early October which will be here before you know it so don’t delay.
Calendar photos for 2021 must be submitted by September 20, 2020.
In my last email I mentioned that Lulu.com, the publisher of our calendars, has completely overhauled their website and that the new calendar creation tool was not yet available. I have recently received an email from Lulu indicating the new and completely revised calendar tool will be available in late September. This fits our schedule pretty well as long as Lulu delivers the tool on time and there are no glitches in the new release. For those of you who want to know the reason for this change, the previous versions of the calendar tool used Adobe Flash which will no longer be supported by Adobe after the end of 2020.
I encourage all participants to visit the MINI of the Month website for full details. MINIoftheMonthCalendar.com
Please review the photo guidelines, schedule and samples of some of the previous winning photos on the website. We have quite a few photos submitted every year that do not meet the minimum requirements for format, resolution or quality. Here are some key points to make sure your photos are of sufficient quality to be used in the calendar:
- Photos must be high resolution to be sharp and clear when enlarged and printed on the final calendar – at least 3 megapixels, if possible. More is better.
- Photos must be in landscape (horizontal) format (width is the largest dimension).
- Most photos will have to be cropped to fit the 8½” x 11” format of the printed calendar. Many cell phones now make photos with very wide aspect ratio. Compose your photos so they can be cropped without losing important picture elements.
- By submitting photo(s), you are giving permission for your photo to be published in the calendar. If you submit a photo taken by someone else, you must provide a statement indicating that you have the photographer’s permission for the photo to be published.
- Photos entered in previous years may be resubmitted for 2021 as long as they have not been previously published in a MINI of the Month Calendar.
All the details are on the website. You can also keep up to date with the latest calendar information by visiting the MINI of the Month Calendar Facebook page: facebook.com/MINIoftheMonthCalendar
For each submitted photo, please include a descriptive caption (100 characters or less) and the first initial and last name of the photographer and/or person submitting the photo. Captions should contain information about the subject, event and/or location where the photo was taken along with any other interesting information. Please keep this in mind. If I have to track down winners to get caption information after the voting is over, it just slows down the preparation of the calendars.
Also, if you know of MINI events you would like included in the calendar, please send the date, location and name of the event. This is especially important for non-US participants since I do not have access to most non-US MINI events. Most major US MINI events are included in the calendar, but some events have not finalized their dates before the calendar is completed. Non-US participants can also send dates of important holidays in your part of the world if you would like them included in the calendar. We now have quite a few participants from several other countries. I would like to include significant dates, events and holidays for all MINI of the Month participants.
The worldwide pandemic caused many of this year’s planned events to be cancelled or rescheduled. It is possible that some 2021 events could also be disrupted by the ongoing pandemic. We’ll include event dates as we know them, but the calendar is finalized in October and we have no guarantees that events will take place as scheduled once we get into 2021.
Photos, comments or questions can be submitted to: MINIoftheMonth@gmail.com
If you send links to your photos stored on a photo sharing website, please make sure that the original full resolution photos can be downloaded. Many of these sites only save much smaller, lower resolution photos to download.
2021 MINI of the Month Calendar schedule:
September 20, 2020 – Deadline for submission of photos
September 25, 2020 – Start of voting to select winners
October 18, 2020 – Voting closes
October 23, 2020 – Winners announced
November 6, 2020 – 2021 calendars available for purchase
8th Annual Photo Scavenger Hunt
Saturday April 25 2 – 5 PM
MINI of Des Moines 9900 Hickman
Jeremy, once again, has volunteered to host our yearly photo scavenger hunt.
The details of the hunt are kept under wraps until that day. Jeremy is thinking we could do this as a ‘never have to get out of your car’ event. We could dust the cobwebs off our walkies and use those! Or some other form of technology….
We’ll gather in the service drive behind MINI of Des Moines at 1:45 pm for the “No Contact” drivers meeting and proceed from there. Laura promises an awesome prize for the winner!
Remember to keep your distance, wear your mask and be very mindful of others. Stay safe MINIacs and here’s hoping to see you all for our first event of 2020!!
First Membership Meeting of 2020
Sunday January 19
1:00 PM
Tavern II Pizza – Pasta – Grill
1755 50th Street (Across from Lowe’s)
West Des Moines
Our first meeting of 2020 is an important one as we will be determining our Board of Directors for the 2020 season. Five of the current board members have offered to stay on the board in 2020, if the members so vote. That leaves us one opening to fill. If you are interested in helping direct the club this year you can contact a current board member to find out more or just come to the meeting and express your interest.
We also need someone to step in and lead the club next year. Someone to take charge in planning & leading the board/general meetings and events, to name a few. So think about it and remember someone has to do it so it might as well be you, right?
Let’s gather on Sunday, January 19, 2020, at 1 PM at The Tavern II on 50th in West Des Moines (across from Lowe’s). You can take care of your 2020 dues, we’ll take care of business, have some food, and as always, great conversation with fellow MINIacs. Please RSVP via Facebook or email to Laura by midnight Wednesday January 15, 2020. And don’t feel you can’t join us if you’ve stored your MINI for the season or if you haven’t joined the club yet. Anyone is always welcome, it’s how we roll.
Seventh Annual Jolly Holiday Lights Tour
A night of food, fun and support for Make A Wish Foundation. Mark your calendars for Monday, December 2. We’ll meet for dinner at Perkins, 2621 Adventureland Drive in Altoona, at 6:00 PM and then head on over to the show. Jolly Holiday lights is a 2.5 mile cruise through over 100 holiday themed light displays. All that for a mere $20 per car! Show your support for an awesome cause and join us. Please RSVP via Facebook or email to Laura by midnight Friday, November 29.
If you’re unable to make dinner but would still like to join us for the tour meet us at the entrance to the park at 7:30 PM.
17th Annual Fall Colors Tour with Eastern Iowa MINI Club
Sunday October 20, 8:45 AM to 5 PM
Via hilly, curvy highways and byways we’re heading to Farmington in Southeast Iowa. We’ll lunch at the Bridge Café and Supper Club (no coat and tie needed) then head back to Des Moines passing thru Fairfield, Fremont and Oskaloosa. There are several pumpkin patches along the way but no ‘Fresh Egg’ signs were seen.
The convoy will meet at Petco in Southridge Mall. Drivers meeting at 8:45 AM and departure at 9:00 AM. It’s about 300 miles and will take about 7 1/2 hrs, including a pit stop and lunch. RSVP via Facebook or email to Laura no later than midnight, Wednesday, Oct 16 and please note the number in your party. Fill up the tank, charge the walkies, don your shirt and name badge and prepare to motor!
PLEASE NOTE: It’s a NO GO if the day is going to be a wash out with rain. We’ve done this on rainy days and it just isn’t any fun. Final decision will be made Saturday night and posted so stay aware.